Carolyn Schofield is running as an Independent for Illinois lieutenant governor in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. She appears on the ballot as the running mate of gubernatorial candidate Collin Corbett.
In Illinois, the governor and lieutenant governor run as a joint ticket. The lieutenant governor presides over the state Senate, serves as governor if the governor leaves office and chairs several state commissions. Major policy proposals from the ticket would require action by the governor, the General Assembly or both.
Schofield faces Republican Aaron Del Mar and Democrat Christian L. Mitchell in the race.
Candidate information
- Name: Carolyn Schofield
- Party: Independent
- Residence: Crystal Lake, Illinois
- Education: Bachelor's degree in general engineering with an environmental quality specialization, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1994
Experience and public service
Schofield has held elected and appointed roles across local and regional government, according to her campaign website. She served as a Crystal Lake council member starting in 2009 and as a McHenry County board member starting in 2012. She also worked as a legislative director in the Illinois General Assembly in Springfield and as a field engineer in fire protection, according to the campaign.
According to the campaign, Schofield serves as president of the McHenry County Mental Health Board and as vice chair of the On to 2050 Regional Plan at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. BallotReady lists her as an executive committee member at the agency since 2013.
She was a substitute teacher in Crystal Lake School District 47.
On the issues
The following positions are drawn from the Corbett-Schofield ticket's campaign website. These are shared platform proposals, not Schofield's alone. Implementing them would require the governor's authority, legislative action or both.
Taxes and spending. The ticket says it would lower property taxes, which the campaign calls "the highest in the country." The campaign also pledges to freeze discretionary spending in the first year and establish transparency standards to measure the impact of tax dollars. The campaign does not detail which spending would be frozen or how property tax relief would be funded.
Healthcare and energy costs. The ticket says it would reduce healthcare costs by reforming the Certificate of Need process and addressing market consolidation, which the campaign says is "stifling competition and artificially increasing medical prices." The campaign also pledges to bring down energy costs and provide relief on gas prices, claiming Illinois drivers pay the third-highest gas taxes in the country.
Infrastructure. The ticket says it would speed up road and bridge improvements by streamlining bureaucracy, speeding up approval timelines and improving procurement. The campaign also says it would rein in unchecked data center growth.
Public safety. The ticket says it would fix the Department of Corrections, citing allegations that hundreds of inmates have been abused and sexually assaulted, including what the campaign describes as over 900 minors in juvenile detention facilities. The campaign also pledges to hold criminals accountable while rehabilitating offenders.
Government reform. The ticket says it would end partisan gerrymandering, create open primaries, pursue campaign finance reform and increase transparency.
Candidate responses were drawn from the Corbett-Schofield campaign website and BallotReady questionnaire data. North Shore Weekly did not independently verify the campaign's fiscal claims, including its characterizations of Illinois tax and gas-price rankings. Implementation details and funding mechanisms were not provided for most proposals.
